West Linn HS closed on Tuesday after fire above gym
WEST LINN, Ore. – West Linn High School will be closed on Tuesday after a fire spread through an attic crawl space on Monday afternoon.
Firefighters said the fire started when sparks from welders lit a bush on fire near the school. The welders thought they put the fire out, but embers had floated to the roof and got sucked into a vent.
The fire then flared up in the attic near the gym, although the gym itself was not badly damaged, according to Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue spokesman Brian Barker.
Principal Lou Bailey said the school will be closed until officials can make sure all the electrical systems are functioning properly after so much water was sprayed in the building.
The school also still has the lingering smell of smoke.
Bailey said they will regroup on Tuesday to decide what will happen about classes on Wednesday.
Firefighters first got the call around 2 p.m. Barker said all the students and staff were evacuated from the building. Nobody was hurt in the fire.
The first firefighters to arrive called for a second and third alarm, which brings more firefighters to the scene. Barker said that was mostly because of the large size of the building.
The fire managed to start in a space above the gym's sprinkler system, which meant fire crews had to check the entire crawlspace for hotspots.
Several firefighters climbed onto the school's roof and used chainsaws to cut large holes to reach the fire, as well as to vent heat and smoke.
There were about 1,500 people evacuated from the school, Barker said.
It's good the Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue! was able to put it out, and no one was injured!
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Thanks, guys!! We're awfully glad to have you around!!!!!
I'm a senior at WLHS and I can assure you, it was as accidental as it can be. And we are definitely not the Top 5. I don't know where you heard that but it's a bit presumptuous if you think that just by hearing "West Linn".Â
@Chrisann_themum Yo I went to this high school Chrisann; what other schools are nicer than WLHS? LO and Wilsonville maybe?Â
 @portlandborn83 Assuming you're talking about the building state itself, I guess WLHS isn't really on the Top 5 anymore, is it now? And besides, it's the school's education that counts. Which, we're  #8 on as of last year.Â
@Chrisann_themum I had a better education there at WLHS than in college at UO so suck it up as much as possible.
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And I'd say that the building at WLHS was nicer than 50% of the buildings I went to at UO btw...
Ya, they will find the kids that did it, give them a slap on the wrist likle the Woddburn knuckleheads.
 @dkgiovenco Are you capable of comprehending what you read, that means do you understand what you read.  The article makes it very clear when it was stated that 'Firefighters said the fire started when sparks from welders lit a bush on fire near the school. The welders thought they put the fire out, but embers had floated to the roof and got sucked into a vent.' Â
When I went to drop off my son's football gear, I found out a welder set a tree on fire...
Gosh, I hope it doesn't affect the new bagillion dollar school they just built! Its probably in the top 5 nicest in the state...
 @portlandborn83 I don't know what you're talking about. They remodeled part of the school quite a few years ago and I highly doubt it's in the top 5 in the state. A little school envy perhaps?
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And your attempt at "humor" at a time when students and faculty are in danger is beyond ignorant.
@ladymoon2 Hey there ladymoon, I went to this high school so I don't know what you are talking about. From my perspective it was nicer than any of the buildings I saw at both UO and OSU...it was a state of the art facility. I know of no other community in our state that has a nicer school other than maybe LO or Wilsonville, but I don't go around travelling and inspecting high schools.Â
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WLHS maybe has 20% of the original building from the past and the rest of it is new.Â
 @ladymoon2  @portlandborn83 you need to chill out, sounds like everyone got out of the school safely, and what porlandborn83 said was funny!
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